[Dilbert San Diego]

Well, every property in America, whether in a nice area or in a ghetto, has a market value. The market will determine how much these places in Detroit are worth.

Are these abandoned houses which the city has taken possession of? If so, wouldn’t they be part of city property sold off during the bankruptcy?

Anyway, though none of us want to live there, these places do have some market value. Let investors pay whatever the market price ends up being.

[Alberta's Child]

One problem in a place like Detroit is that most properties aren't even assets anymore ... they're liabilities. That's why there have been a number of properties in Detroit in recent years that have been listed at $1 -- with no takers. If the prospects of doing anything meaningful with the property are years away, then demolition costs and the cost of carrying the property (mainly insurance and taxes) are likely to exceed any investment returns you may get in the long run.

Interesting that the Chinese are interested in buying these properties, though. This is one way we are likely to recover much of the massive U.S. trade deficit with China.

[cripplecreek]

What FReepers desperately choose to ignore is this.



Despite all its problems Detroit is still a major port city and the second busiest freight crossing on the continent. That simply isn't going to change unless Canada decides to blow trillions uprooting their industrialized region and moving it somewhere else. In fact, its so important to Canada that they're paying for a new bridge to ease the trade bottleneck.

The Chinese aren't stupid, they know exactly what they're doing. I wouldn't be surprised if Chinese developers weren't encouraging the buys as a means of trying properties up without having to pay for them and they'll get them later.

As far as the willfully ignorant. Its a waste of time trying to convince them to see facts. (Kinda like global warming alarmists)